It was near the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather was bright and the osmanthus trees were fragrant. There were a lot of guests in the Jinfen family. It was common for a wealthy family to buy some jewelry for their women during the festival. Suddenly an angry man in python robe came in with a sword, followed by more than a dozen people.
The guard looked unkind. The shopkeeper hurried forward to greet him. The man said coldly: "Call Ding Chu out."
The shopkeeper was stunned: "May I ask this high-ranking official...what do you want from him?"
A kid at the back said in a sharp voice: "If you tell him to come out, call him out. How can you come up with such nonsense?"
The shopkeeper smiled bitterly and said, "Well... to be honest, he is no longer in our store."
"What?!" The sharp voice grabbed the shopkeeper's collar, "Where is the person?"
The shopkeeper said: "A few days ago, I heard that he stole other people's things and was caught by the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division. Although he was released again...flies don't stare at seamless eggs. So the villain sent him away."
The sharp voice was stunned: "Stealing things? Isn't the salary in your shop extremely high? Is the accountant still a thief?"
The shopkeeper said: "He said he stole an ancestral treasure from someone who wanted to advance and become an official."
The man in the python robe sneered: "What a great ambition." He waved his hand and left. The shopkeeper bowed behind him to see him off.
A group of people left the Jinfen Family and went straight to the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division. The gatekeeper here was the most discerning. Seeing the aura from a distance, he knew that he was the master that his master did not dare to offend. He sent people in and called the commander Zhao Cheng, while nodding and bowing.
The man in python robe stepped on the back of the sharp voice and jumped off the horse. Without even glancing at the door from the corner of his eye, he strode in. When he reached the vestibule, Zhao Cheng had already greeted him. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed. The Yamen servant beside him blinked.
Kneel down on the ground.
The young master in the python robe stood still and did not ask them to get up. He stepped forward with a sharp voice and whispered: "A few days ago, you caught a man named Ding Chu stealing someone's ancestral treasure?"
Zhao Cheng was stunned for a moment: "I've caught him. The owner didn't find the stolen goods in their house. He thought he had mistaken the wrong person, so he let him go."
The sharp voice cursed: "Trash! What's the use of the imperial court raising you!" Zhao Cheng lowered his head and didn't dare to say anything. The sharp voice asked again, "Where does he live?" Zhao Cheng has a good memory and hurriedly called for arresting Ding that day.
Chu's yamen officer came forward and said in a sharp voice, "You lead the way." Then he retreated behind the python-robed young master.
The young master picked up his feet and walked away, and the government servant who led the way hurriedly followed. Zhao Cheng didn't dare to get up until all the people had left. Someone couldn't help but asked: "Sir, who is this?" Zhao Cheng pointed to the sky.
, and stretched out three fingers. All the government officials shuddered.
In order to calm down his shock, Zhao Cheng made a pot of tea and rested. He had just felt comfortable for a while, when the officer who had led the way for Mr. Mangpao came back and hurriedly shouted: "Sir, that thief has escaped!"
Zhao Chenghao was so frightened that he almost smashed the tea cup: "Why did you run away!"
"He ran away the same day we let him go," said the yamen servant. "The master laughed so hard that my whole body went cold. He told us to draw a picture and find this person within ten days."
Zhao Cheng's head buzzed and his legs became weak. After a while, he said, "Did the master say what he did?"
"I told you," said the Yamen servant, "that I suspected that he had stolen something very important."
Zhao Cheng responded: "I actually let him go that day! If I catch him again, I will have to skin him alive."
"Master, please don't mess around!" the Yamen servant said hurriedly, "That person said he would handle it himself."
Zhao Cheng stood up: "Quick! Draw pictures and post them all over the city and search for them!"
The yamen servant said with a bitter face: "Sir, the master didn't want everyone to know about it, so he asked us to investigate secretly."
"What?!" Zhao Cheng was anxious, "We only have this much manpower. If he hides in a corner, he can be found secretly wherever he can!"
The yamen servant yelled: "No! But how can he allow me to talk in front of this old man?"
Zhao Cheng walked around the room more than a dozen times like an ant on a hot pot. He really couldn't think of a way to do it, so he stumbled and said: "Ignore the drawings for now, let everyone go out and look for them!" The Yamen officer ran away in response.
go out.
Not long after, the military and horse departments in the five cities became empty government offices, and all the government officials were sent out to wander the streets. The people in the capital were inexplicably frightened and did not know what had happened.
In the evening, Zhao Cheng returned home with a dejected look on his face. His daughter-in-law, Mrs. He, hurriedly asked what difficulties he had encountered. Zhao Cheng sighed and told what happened today. Then he slumped in the chair and shook his head and said: "After a whole day,
There is no news at all."
He couldn't help with this kind of thing, so he could only comfort him and said: "Over the years, I have gone through ups and downs. Good people have their own destiny." Zhao Cheng smiled bitterly. What he was worried about was the decision made by the master.
Ten day period.
Three days later, He Shun, He's brother, came to see his sister. Seeing his sister's face was full of sorrow, he couldn't help but ask questions. He complained: "You are also unreasonable. Now let your brother-in-law find a thief, and you are not allowed to paint pictures and post them all over the street."
, and we only have ten days to solve the case. Today is already the fourth day, and we don’t even have any ideas.”
He Shun didn't care about nobles or thieves, because today he was coming to see his sister for money, so he pretended to be concerned and asked: "Who are you looking for, brother-in-law?"
"My name is Ding Chu, I don't know if it's my real name. I used to work as a bookkeeper in my bank building. A few days ago, someone accused him of stealing something, so your brother-in-law arrested him and locked him up for half a day. Who knew that the man didn't find the stolen goods, and your brother-in-law also
Let him go. Yinlou heard about it and didn't dare to use him anymore, so he fired him. Unexpectedly, a few days later, the noble man came to see him again. But he was thrown into jail and moved away as soon as he got out."
He hummed, "If he has nothing wrong with him, why bother moving in a hurry?"
He Shun thought for a while and asked: "How old is this person? Does he have a family?"
He said: "God knows if there is a daughter-in-law in my hometown, but there is no daughter-in-law in Beijing. She looks about thirty years old, but I don't know how old she is. Just wait, I will get the portrait for you to see." Then he went to the back room to find Ding Chu's portrait.
Come and hand it to his brother.
He Shun looked at the portrait and smiled: "A man of this age, who has no wife by his side and is still working as a bank accountant in a silver building, must stay with Liu Mianhua. Let my brother-in-law take this and go to the kiln to ask the kiln sister, and he will definitely know.
.”
He's eyes lit up: "That's right. When your brother-in-law comes back, I'll tell him to go!"
He Shun took the portrait in his arms and said, "I also know a few fans. I'll go ask for my brother-in-law first." He quickly praised him for being sensible. He Shun climbed up the pole and asked his sister for five taels of silver, saying
Don't go to a brothel empty-handed. He gave it to him after giving him a few words of advice.
When Zhao Cheng came back in the evening, He told him what his brother had said. Zhao Cheng sighed: "I have walked around the kiln, but no kiln sister recognized him." He was a little disappointed.
Three more days passed, and it was already the seventh day. Zhao Cheng woke up early and found that he had lost a lot of hair in the anxiety. He couldn't even eat breakfast and rushed to the Yamen. In the afternoon, He Shun hurried to his sister's house to ask Mr. He
Shouted: "Someone knows the whereabouts of that Ding or something!"
He was overjoyed: "Seriously?!" He immediately sent someone to the Yamen to invite Zhao Cheng.
Not long after, Zhao Cheng came back. He Shun smiled and said: "Brother-in-law, your brother-in-law, I am a lucky general, aren't I?" Then he talked about what happened.
It turned out that a friend of his had won a lot in gambling yesterday, and today he invited the brothers to have a drink. During the dinner, there was a singer who had a good appearance and a clever mouth. Some idle men left her to accompany them to drink and sing songs.
My son drank two more glasses of wine and complained about her sweetheart. She said that she regarded him as a scholar and took good care of him in every possible way. However, the sweetheart only missed the yellow-faced woman from her hometown. Tomorrow, my mother got too hot and dumped him.
Are you still worried that you can't find a man? All the idle men cheered in unison.
But at this moment, an officer from the Wucheng Army and Horses Department came in. He didn't say what he was doing. He craned his neck and looked around before leaving. He Shun remembered that his brother-in-law was going to help the nobleman catch the thief, and he felt that the portrait was still in his arms.
, he took it out and asked everyone present who had seen it. The singer's face changed drastically when she saw the portrait. He Shun asked her if she had seen this person, and she shook her head vigorously and said she didn't recognize him, and her body trembled slightly. Everyone in the audience saw the singer.
The singer was lying. He Shun was overjoyed and grabbed the girl and interrogated her. The singer only wanted to die without telling her. He Shun bothered several brothers to keep an eye on her and came to his sister's house to report the news.
After Zhao Cheng heard this, he hurriedly followed his brother-in-law to the place where they were drinking. The singers were not the same as those idle men. The singer's face turned pale with fright, so Zhao Cheng threatened her with a few words and then she stopped.
.It turned out that she saw that the man in the portrait looked very much like her lover. The man's surname was not Ding, but Zhao. He and Zhao Cheng were from the same family five hundred years ago, and now he worked as a bookkeeper in a drug store. Zhao Cheng asked him where he worked.
After a while, the singer said: "He has been there since I knew him. He has been there for more than half a year."
Zhao Cheng heard that he was different from the person that the master was looking for. Even so, the ten-day period was about to expire, so he had to make an appointment, right? He followed the singer's instructions and rushed to the drug store. The first time he entered the door, he saw that person.
The accountant. The policeman who went to arrest Ding Chu that day shouted: "It's him! It's him!" The accountant was confused and walked out from behind the counter: "Masters, are you okay?"
Zhao Cheng looked at this man for a few times. He was wearing a blue-grey cloth coat, a slight beard on his chin, and a turban on his head. He looked to be almost forty. People from the Jinfen family said that Ding Chu was around thirty.
I asked him his name, age, place of origin, and whether he had a family. The man said: "The little man Zhao Tu is thirty-six years old this year, and he is from Ping'an Prefecture. He has a wife named Xia in his hometown." He also asked the shopkeeper, who is the shopkeeper?
He said he had been working here for almost two years. But he looked exactly like Ding Chu.
Zhao Cheng looked at him and sneered twice: "It's obvious that you two are colluding in an attempt to deceive me. How can I be fooled?" Then he ordered the shopkeeper and the two young men to be taken down together, and the drug store here was temporarily sealed.
Everyone cried out in unison. The yamen servants escorted the shopkeeper back to the Wucheng Bingmasi yamen. Zhao Cheng personally escorted the accountant to the residence of His Highness the Third Prince.
His Highness, the Third Highness, has been very angry these days. The servants suddenly spread rumors that Mr. Ma was stealing people outside, and the rumor spread to people with noses and eyes. He sent people to investigate, and sure enough, a box of love poems was found in Mr. Ma's courtyard. Mr. Ma
Naturally, she refused to admit it and wrote: I don't know what that thing is, let alone the accounting clerk outside. I implore Your Highness to find the person, find out the truth and clear her name. The third child was hoping that Zhao Cheng would find the person, and
I was hoping that he would not be found. I was suffering in my heart, but Zhao Cheng happened to say that the thief had been caught. So he sighed deeply, was stunned for a long time, and ordered someone to tell Zhao Cheng to come in.
At that time, Zhao Cheng and Mr. Accountant arrived at the outer study. His Highness took one look at this man and felt much more at ease. He was much uglier than himself and older. He asked him his name, surname, and origin, and answered them one by one that day. III
His Highness frowned and looked at Zhao Cheng: "What's wrong?"
Zhao Chengdao: "It's really this person who I have seen before. He is the accountant of the Jinfen Family."
Mr. Accountant said: "Since I came to Beijing, I have been working in Xia's Pharmacy. I have never been to any gold powder family."
Zhao Chengdao: "It's obvious that the drug store owner and he are in the same group. They are both thieves."
His Highness the Third Prince frowned: "You said you have been working at Xia's Pharmacy, do you have any evidence?"
Mr. Accountant said: "The accounts of our shop in the past two years have been done by a villain. I remember that in the past year, we made a total of 3,272 taels and six cents of silver. In the first month of this year, we made
I bought a batch of Korean ginseng from Li Daguan, a drug dealer in the Liao Dynasty. There are seventy-eight ginseng in total, and the purchase price is..." He then memorized the account book of Xia's Pharmacy.
The Third Prince waved his hand: "Wait a minute." He ordered someone to go to their shop to get the account book.
The accountant said: "The real account book is in the cabinet where the astragalus is placed, and the cover is the Tao Te Ching." His Highness the Third Highness laughed dumbly.
Not long after, the account book was fetched, and His Highness spread it out to look at it. The accountant knelt down and memorized the account. From the first month of the first month to the sixth month, all the records were correct. The Third Highness said curiously: "You actually remember.
So clear?"
The accountant said: "If it has not passed through the hands of a villain, the villain will not be able to remember it; if it is done by a villain, the villain will remember it clearly."
His Highness the Third Prince has also seen the portrait, and the person in front of him who calls himself Zhao Tu is very similar to the Ding Chu in the portrait; but he cannot work as an accountant in the Jinfen Family Silver House and Xia's Pharmacy at the same time. Let me hear what people from the Jinfen Family say.
, Ding Chu is not yet thirty years old, and this man is already thirty-six.
Just as I was thinking about it, someone from outside came to report: "The commander of the Beijing Guards, Sun Shao, has asked General Sun to see him."
His Highness the Third Highness was greatly surprised: "Seriously?! Please come!"
This Sun Shao group is from Datong Prefecture. Their ancestors served as generals under the command of Jia Daishan, the former Duke of Rongguo. They are proficient in bows and horses, and are versatile in social affairs. Now they are the powerful generals under King Yan, controlling the garrison of the capital.
Wei. This man was so obedient that he never dared to offend the son of King Yan. He was so unable to win over him. Now that he came to the door, how could it not be a good thing? So Zhao Cheng, the yamen servants, the accountant and others were all blown away to the next door.
In the wing, order someone to make some good tea.
I saw that Sun Shao was a tall man with a strong physique. He looked at the Third Highness and knelt down and kowtowed. The Third Highness quickly helped him up with both hands and invited him to take a seat. Then he asked: "General Sun is a rare guest, why do you come to see Xiao Wang?"
?”
Sun Shaozu smiled bitterly and said: "In order to accept the crime from His Highness."
The Third Highness was happy inside and said: "Oh? What is the general's crime?"
Sun Shao said: "The family of Xia, the wife of the last general, opened a medicine shop. It was a decent shop, but for some reason the Wucheng Army and Horses Division closed it down. The nearby neighbors heard from the yamen that the tent in the shop was closed.
Mr. Fang turned out to be a thief and stole important belongings from His Highness's house. He scared the wife half to death. She is a woman who never leaves the house. How could she know what kind of accountant was hired in the shop? "
His Highness the Third Prince blurted out: "Xia's Pharmacy is opened by your wife's family! What a coincidence!"